Ministers plotting 'Trojan Horse' scheme to replace Keir Starmer with Andy Burnham

Ministers are reportedly plotting a "Trojan Horse" scheme to position Andy Burnham as a potential successor to Sir Keir Starmer following tomorrow's local elections.

A Labour MP from the northwest could vacate their seat as early as next week, creating a by-election opportunity for the Greater Manchester mayor to return to Parliament.

Those backing the proposal would pressure the Prime Minister to abandon his resistance to Mr Burnham's comeback, making this a condition for their ongoing support of his leadership.

Under the terms of the arrangement, Mr Burnham would need to issue a public declaration of allegiance to Sir Keir, effectively barring him from launching an immediate bid for premiership.

One source told the Daily Mail: "The attraction for Keir is there is no guarantee Andy will win the by-election. If he wants to be the candidate, he will need to sign a loyalty oath to the Prime Minister. And it buys Keir a bit more time to see if he can turn things round."

The scheme would leave Labour members with a viable alternative leader already in place, should Sir Keir's performance fail to improve over the coming months amid the threat of Reform UK and the Greens.

Members of the Cabinet promoting the strategy intend to present it to Sir Keir as his best chance of salvaging his time in Downing Street.

For the PM, it means accepting a potential rival into his parliamentary ranks; meanwhile, Mr Burnham risks sacrificing his mayoral position, without guaranteeing a route back to Westminster.

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Iranian proxies responsible for antisemitic attacks could face 14 years in prison

Proxies who carry out antisemitic attacks orchestrated by Iran could be jailed for up to 14 years under new powers being introduced by the Government.

The Government is planning to include legislation in the King's Speech next week, which will allow the Home Secretary to designate proxy groups as a foreign intelligence service.

It means those working on behalf of Iran could be imprisoned, even if they are unaware of who they are working for.

The new powers are being introduced to tackle a rise in antisemitism in the UK, and follow a number of assaults against the Jewish community, most recently the terror attack in Golders Green last week.

The news of the new legislation also comes after Sir Keir Starmer held a summit in Downing Street yesterday, meeting with more than 90 representatives from different sectors to discuss how to tackle antisemtisim.

There, the prime minister insisted that Iranian attempts to destabilise British society "will not be tolerated".

Scotland's local election vote could see 'mandate to push' second independence referendum

The co-leader of the Scottish Greens has said he expects tomorrow's local election results to give his party a "mandate for us to immediately push" for a second independence referendum.

Current polling suggests there will be a pro-independence majority, with the SNP and the Scottish Greens commanding enough seats to run the Scottish Parliament.

Ross Greer told Sky News: "If a majority of the parliament is elected on pro-independence manifestos, that is a mandate for us to immediately push for Scotland to be given the right to make that choice about its own future."

He adds that the Scottish Greens have been performing well because "we've actually delivered things that save people money".

"There are limits, really hard limits, to what we can achieve with the current powers that the Scottish Parliament and Government actually have.

"So the Greens see the need for Scotland to become an independent nation as an urgent one, especially now that Reform are threatening any constituency in Scotland that elects a Green MSP if they take on the UK government after the next general election."

'Antisemitism is completely unwelcome in the Green Party', says Zack Polanski

Zack Polanski said his party was taking action to tackle antisemitism.

Confronted with a series of comments made by his candidates, the Green leader told BBC Radio 4: “Those messages are all unacceptable, and it’s important to condemn that.

“The Green Party are an anti-racist party and it’s important that we stick to our values.”

He said there would be a “standardised vetting process” in future, with compulsory training for candidates, “to make it clear that antisemitism is completely unwelcome in the Green Party, as it is in society”.

“It is also important to say one case of antisemitism is one too many. This is a handful of cases and actually we have over 4,500 candidates, the vast, vast majority of which are doing amazing work in their communities right now,” he said.

The Green leader said he was personally “traumatised” by footage of the alleged Golders Green attacker being tackled by police.

He said: “Two things can be true at the same time: officers are incredibly brave when they run towards scenes of crimes that most people, including myself, will want to run away from.

“At the same time, I think it is accurate, and that I was also traumatised by seeing someone handcuffed and repeatedly kicked in the head.”

Zack Polanski apologises after false claim of being British Red Cross spokesman

Green Leader Zack Polanski has said he was wrong to claim he was a spokesman for the British Red Cross.

He told the BBC: “I used the wrong word, and I accept that, but I would essentially take words on stage with me and speak.

“It’s important, though, and I accept this, that they don’t support any political party, and I’ve made sure that’s been taken down."

He had falsely claimed to be a spokesman for the British Red Cross while campaigning for the Green party leadership, according to the charity.

The claim appeared on a former fundraising page and independent promotional material, but has been denied by the British arm of the international humanitarian organisation.

The claim was also mentioned on his personal website in 2020, where he said he was “really proud of the work we do”.

The British Red Cross said Mr Polanski had never served as an official spokesman, and confirmed it had raised the issue with the politician’s team.

Jet fuel shortages could impact holidays says Shadow Transport Secretary

The shadow transport secretary says the UK is in a "very, very serious situation" around the supply of jet fuel amid fears that the Iran war and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz could lead to shortages.

Richard Holden described the impact it's going to have on everything from business travel to family holidays.

He adds that the airline industry is asking the government to get "rid of the emissions trading scheme which is only just being introduced" as this "adds extra costs onto airlines", and for more flexibility on which sort of fuels can be bought internationally.

Mr Holden said: "We think the government should be open about that, because the crucial thing is to keep the economy moving, keep families able to get on holiday and keep business moving across the world as well, especially at this moment in time."

Asked about whether people should think of holidaying in the UK this summer, he said: " I'm all in favour of staycations."

Labour leadership challenge 'would not answer' party's problems, says Work and Pensions Secretary

A leadership challenge to Sir Keir Starmer would not be the answer to Labour’s problems, a key ally of the Prime Minister has said.

Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden was asked if Sir Keir would fight any challenge to his leadership, and said: “Yes, and I hope there isn’t, because I don’t think it would be the answer to our problems.

"We’d be saying to the public, ‘just hold on for a few months while we go over here and sort something out’. That is not what the public wants to hear.

“I hope we do well tomorrow. But even if we don’t, the day after our job is to wake up, continue with doing our job and serve the country.”

Mr McFadden noted the Prime Minister was elected for a five-year term, and he "should serve out that term".

"His job is to lead the country through uncertain times, and that’s the job I know he wakes up in the morning and wants to do.”

Asked whether Sir Keir is ready to face down any challenges to his leadership, the senior Cabinet minister said: “Yes, he is feeling that. He’s remarkably resolute, and he knows that to turn inward at this moment, or to turn inward after Thursday would be a mistake.

“He said he would put the country first when he fought the election a couple of years ago, and he will continue to put the country first.”

Work and Pensions Secretary warns of job losses amid Iran war fallout

The economic shock of the Iran war could lead to job losses in Britain over the course of the year, the Work and Pensions Secretary has warned.

Asked about the impact of the conflict on the labour market, Pat McFadden said: “At the beginning of the year, the economy was going in the right direction. We had stronger growth than we expected.

“The latest unemployment figures for February showed a fall, interest rates were expected to come down, the markets were pricing in a couple of cuts during the course of the year.

“The truth is, with the effect of the Iran war, we can’t count on any of that at the moment. There is likely to be an effect on prices, which feeds through from energy costs, and there may well be labour market implications.”

Asked if this meant job losses, Mr McFadden replied: “Yes. It could happen.”

When asked what the projections were for how bad job losses could get, Mr McFadden said: “The market projections for unemployment for the rest of the year have been revised upwards as a direct result of the Iran war.”

When will local election results be declared?

Polling stations open for local elections in England, Scotland and Wales tomorrow, that will have huge implications for all the major political parties.

While some will have cast their vote already by post or in four flexible pilot schemes in English councils, most will be heading to their polling station between 7am and 10pm.

Counting of the votes for the Scottish and Welsh parliaments will not start until Friday morning, but 46 of the 136 English local authorities are doing so overnight, with the first results expected soon after midnight.

Four councils are not counting until Saturday, three because they also have mayoral elections, and the final result is likely to be late on Saturday night.

Estimated declaration times are approximate and can be affected by issues such as delays in verifying and counting ballots, or by recounts, as well as turnout.